


Something Special

by jamesgatz1925



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Alternate Universe - Teachers, Established Relationship, Fluff, Love, M/M, Sonny is a teacher, Teacher AU, alternative career
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-25
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2019-03-24 01:57:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13800957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jamesgatz1925/pseuds/jamesgatz1925
Summary: Sonny is a third grade teacher and has a big impact on one of his students.





	Something Special

**Author's Note:**

> This is written in the point of view of the student. His name is Manny.

Mr. Carisi was, by far, the best teacher in the entire school. Not that Manny had much to compare—he only had one 3rd grade teacher—but he was sure Mr. Carisi was the greatest.

There were a lot of things Manny loved about his teacher. Upon first meeting on Meet-the-Teacher Night back in July, Manny loved Mr. Carisi’s tie. He was wearing a green tie, Manny’s favorite color, and it had little blue raindrop shapes up and down it. After a semester with Mr. Carisi, Manny felt no qualms about having to wear a tie for mass on Christmas Eve. He chose a green tie to match his favorite of Mr. Carisi’s.

Manny loved Mr. Carisi’s personality. He loved that Mr. Carisi was so nice and caring, that he clearly loved each of his students so dearly. Even Conner, who Manny hated because he was naughty, Mr. Carisi welcomed with a warm smile and a, “I’m happy to see you this morning, Conner!” greeting every single morning. Mr. Carisi always seemed to have different something to say to each the kids, but he always told Conner he was happy to see him. And Conner smiled, and until morning snack time he was usually not naughty.

And Mr. Carisi was the smartest man in the world. He knew everything about everything. Classmates could ask any question imaginable and Mr. Carisi had an explanation for it all. From how it was possible for Santa to travel the globe in one night (time-zones, duh), to “What would the sky look like if we dyed the ocean pink? How much dye would we need to turn the ocean pink? What would happen to the animals if we turned the ocean pink?”, Mr. Carisi had the answers to everything.

Mr. Carisi gave Manny a warm feeling at the pit of his stomach. First meeting, of course, Manny was engrossed in him. Mr. Carisi was bright and engaging. And he was funny. Mr. Carisi told a joke the first time they met.

“Hey Manny,” Mr. Carisi asked, “How do oceans say hello to each other?”

Manny thought about it, but came to no answer. “How?” he replied.

“They wave!” Mr. Carisi exclaimed, his smile excited and funny.

Manny laughed and laughed, then he repeated that joke to everyone he knew until they continuously asked him to stop.

Mr. Carisi was always like that. He was silly and always making the kids laugh. From his jokes to his funny ties, Mr. Carisi was a joy to be around constantly.

And then he said the thing.

The thing that made Manny’s little heart beat a little quicker with wonder and awe. The thing that made Manny appreciate Mr. Carisi all the more.

They were discussing vacations. Hallie was talking about how she will get to ride in an airplane when she goes to visit her grandma next week. Valerie said she rode in a ship once and it had a water slide.

Then, Mr. Carisi told them about his last vacation. That’s when he said the thing.

“Last summer, I went to Florida to visit some of my husband’s family—“

Bells went off in little Manny head. Mr. Carisi had a husband! And he said it so casually! Because Manny knew the difference. Manny knew when an adult talked about a man with a husband, he knew the way they’d whisper “husband” like it wasn’t okay to say out loud. He knew the way his father snorted at the television and changed the channel when anything about two men or two women came on. He knew the way some of his sister’s 7th grade classmates were teasing another girl for saying she had a girlfriend. Manny knew.

But Mr. Carisi didn’t make anything of it, and neither did the other kids.

But after that, Manny began to notice all the clues Mr. Carisi was inadvertently giving off the entire time.

There was a small photo of him and another man on his desk.

The certificate for a class Mr. Carisi had to complete stapled behind his desk said, ‘Dominick Barba-Carisi’.

One time, Mr. Carisi got a call on his cell phone that was laying on their reading table where Manny was sitting. The call was from ‘Rafael’ and a man’s face popped up on the screen. The same face of the man in the photo on Mr. Carisi’s desk.

For some reason, it warmed little Manny’s heart; for a reason not clear to Manny, he appreciated Mr. Carisi even more after finding out about his marriage to another man. It was comforting in a way Manny wouldn’t know for a while yet, but still loved it as a little boy.

The day finally came when Manny saw Mr. Carisi’s husband. After apologizing to the class for texting about an emergency, the man from the photos showed up at the classroom door half an hour later.

Mr. Carisi smiled when he spotted he stranger, and Manny thought that was magnificent. His dad didn’t smile at his mom like that, people only looked at others like that in movies.

Love, Manny decided, was the way Mr. Carisi looked at his husband.

“Come in,” Mr. Carisi said. “Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce you to Mr. Rafael.”

The classmate chosen as greeter for the day was Kim, so Kim got up and made her to way to Mr. Rafael. She shook his hand and told him good morning, and Mr. Rafael beamed at her.

Manny was jealous. He wanted to greet Mr. Carisi’s husband.

“Do you have a few minutes?” Mr. Carisi asked Mr. Rafael.

Mr. Rafael checked his fancy watch. “A few,” he said. “I do have to run home, though.”

“Oh, then before I forget...” Mr. Carisi went to his desk and dug around his backpack. “Guys, what happens when you lose your I.D. card?”

“You can’t buy lunch!” Jayden called out.

“You have to buy a new one!” Iris added.

“Both are correct,” Mr. Carisi said, “Now, Mr. Rafael has misplaced his keys, meaning he can’t get into our house. That’s why he is here, to borrow mine. So—“

“So is he gonna buy ‘em from you?” Ashley asked.

Mr. Carisi grinned. He looked at Mr. Rafael.

“I’m not paying for a key to my own house,” Mr. Rafael said.

The kids laughed.

Manny was just fascinated by the two men. Mr. Carisi kept his distance from Mr. Rafael, of course, it’s not like they were ‘lovey’, like in the movies. But Manny knew the love was there. He could see it. They seemed to glow, shine standing next to each other, like a star on stage at one of the shows on Broadway that his Auntie Jen took him to last year. They had spotlights. Mr. Carisi and Mr. Rafael had love.

He wondered if everyone else could see it like he could. He wondered if everyone else appreciated them the same that he did, or if they were just a normal couple to the other kids. When Mr. Rafael smiled at Mr. Carisi, when Mr. Rafael laughed with the class at Mr. Carisi, he wondered if everyone else’s heart beat happier, too.

Mr. Carisi opened the floor to ask Mr. Rafael a few questions. That’s what they did with new friends that came to the class, to become more acquainted. And because the kids were always curious, so Mr. Carisi knew they had a million questions for whatever stranger came into the class.

Hands shot up, including Manny’s. He didn’t know what he was going to ask, but he was sure he would think of something on the spot. Manny was a quick thinker. Manny was always thinking of the best questions and answers, and Mr. Carisi always commented about how wonderful his brain worked.

Danny was called first. He asked Mr. Rafael what his job is.

“Well, I’m a lawyer for the Manhattan D.A.’s office. And I prosecute the...” Mr. Rafael glanced at Mr. Carisi, then said, “The really bad guys.” Manny guessed that wasn’t what he was going to say first, and for the sake of their little ears he was saving them from something.

“Like murderers?” Conner asked anyway.

Manny rolled his eyes.

“Sometimes,” Mr. Rafael said.

“Okay,” Mr. Carisi stopped him. “Who’s next? River is waiting patiently. Go ahead, Riv.”

River put her hand down and sat up straighter, because Mr. Carisi said it’s important to look engaged when speaking to someone.

“Mr. Rafael, where did you go to college?” River asked, and Manny wanted to know that too because Mr. Carisi was always going on about how important college can be for some people.

“I went to Harvard,” Mr. Rafael said. “That’s in Boston—“

Conner spoke up again. “Mr. Carisi says New York is the best city ever.”

“Conner,” Mr. Carisi said, voice stern. “Last interruption or you’re clipping down.”

Manny never had his clip pulled down, because that was bad news. Their behavior chart had different levels, and everyone started at the same level every day. If you clipped down you could owe recess or get a phone call home. Clipping up meant praise and glory for good behavior. Manny loved getting praise from Mr. Carisi for good behavior.

Mr. Carisi called on Iris next.

Iris asked, “How old are you?”

Mr. Carisi chuckled at the question and looked at Mr. Rafael.

“Uh, I’m forty-five.”

“And how old are you, Mr. Carisi?” Iris asked.

Mr. Carisi grinned like he was teasing Mr. Rafael. “I’m only thirty-five.”

“So you’re ten years older, Mr. Rafael?!” Iris asked next. “Wow!”

“He sure is,” Mr. Carisi said, chuckling, then he muttered, “Now you got kids tellin’ you you’re old, Rafi.”

Manny’s ears caught the nickname Mr. Carisi used for Mr. Rafael. It reminded him of his Auntie Jen calling Uncle Ray ‘Ray-Ray’. When Manny asked, Auntie Jen said she called her husband that because it’s silly and sometimes people call loved ones silly things, mostly ‘honey’ or ‘babe’, but she liked to call Uncle Ray that nickname. James assumed Mr. Carisi calling Mr. Rafael ‘Rafi’ was for the same reason.

“Okay, one more question!” Mr. Carisi announced.

Hands shot up fast, and kids wiggled and cried from their seats for Mr. Carisi to call on them. Mr. Carisi wouldn’t, Manny knew that, so Manny sat quietly with his hand up, his heart racing with nerves. He wanted so badly to ask Mr. Rafael a brilliant question.

“Let’s go with...Manny.”

“Aww!” the other kids cried, turning to Manny.

Soon, all eyes were on him, and Manny was nervous. He had no questions. He didn’t think this through.

“Uhm...uhm...” Manny sighed. “Uhm...”

Manny looked at Mr. Carisi and Mr. Barba, watching him with soft smiles and waiting faces. Manny looked at them, and of course his eyes caught their ties. Mr. Carisi’s was bright blue, which was good but not as good as the orange one with little circles he wore last week, and Mr. Rafael’s was a deep red, and Manny found his question.

“What tie of Mr. Carisi’s is your favorite?”

Some kids scoffed.

“That’s stupid,” Conner commented.

“I’m sorry, Manny,” Mr. Carisi said, “Conner, clip down. You were warned and you are being rude.”

Conner walked over to the clip chart and pulled his off, but Mr. Carisi ignored him.

“Well? That’s an excellent question. Which of my ties is your favorite?” he asked Mr. Rafael again.

Mr. Rafael thought with a finger tapping his chin. He examined Mr. Carisi.

“Let’s see,” he finally said, “I like the purple one with darker purple stripes. But...I think my favorite might be the green one with blue rain drops.”

Manny gasped. “That one’s my favorite, too!” he shouted, then immediately sat back because he feared he spoke out of turn.

But Mr. Carisi only laughed. “I didn’t know that one was so popular,” he said.

“It’s a nice one,” Mr. Rafael said.

Manny nodded in agreement.

Finally, it was time for Mr. Rafael to leave. He thanked the class for their questions, then Mr. Carisi walked him to the door.

“Hey, I’m going to step out for one second. Manny, you’re in charge.”

Manny felt the responsibility deep in his bones. He loved that Mr. Carisi trusted him, listened to him, and let him be in charge.

“He’s the one that reminds me of you,” Manny heard Mr. Carisi whisper to Mr. Rafael, then he heard Mr. Rafael laugh. Manny hoped that was a good thing.

Manny watched the class as Mr. Carisi and Mr. Rafael stepped out of the room, leaving the door cracked so Mr. Carisi could still hear them.

But Manny’s eyes didn’t stay on the class for long, because from his seat he could see Mr. Carisi and Mr. Barba out in the hall. Though he didn’t wish to eavesdrop, he couldn’t take his eyes off the couple. They were standing closer than they had been, their eyes were softer looking at each other, and their smiles were huge. Mr. Rafael laughed at Mr. Carisi, stroked his tie, and finally at the end of their short chat, the shorter man stood up and kissed Mr. Carisi gently on the lips.

Manny couldn’t believe it. He’d never seen two men kiss before, and it was just as beautiful as anyone kissing in the movies. It was soft and pretty and so nice. Manny couldn’t help but smile.

“What are you smiling at?” Conner asked, breaking Manny from his overjoyed spell.

He didn’t need to admonish Conner because Mr. Carisi entered the room again.

“Conner, why did I hear your voice above everyone else’s?”

Manny stopped listening to Mr. Carisi reprimand Conner. He was just thinking about that kiss, the love between the two men, and that green tie with blue rain drops.

* * *

 

“Hi, Mr. Carisi,” Manny said over the phone.

“Manny, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Sonny?”

“Probably for the rest of my life.”

Manny was twenty-five now, and Sonny hadn’t been his teacher for fourteen years. He hadn’t been anybody’s teacher for a few years, since he took over as principal of that old elementary school.

“To what do I owe the pleasure, Mr. Assistant District Attorney?”

Manny was still getting used to that, too. He’d been at the Brooklyn D.A.’s office for two years, after his time at Harvard, and he still got a tingly feeling when someone said or he read his door’s nameplate, ‘Assistant District Attorney Manuel Rodriguez’.

“Well, I just wanted to tell you...” Manny took a deep breath.

“You were elected D.A. already?”

Manny laughed. “What? God, no. Could you imagine? No. I’m getting married.”

“What?!” Sonny cried. “That’s even better. You finally popped the question. Or did Samuel?”

“I did, I’ll have you know. And I just wanted to tell you before, like, Sam’s mom takes out an ad on page six.”

“Hey, she’s a parent. How are yours?”

“Oh, you know. They keep saying I’m too young to know this is what I want. I’m twenty-five! I think they’re just being homophobic—“

“Hey,” Sonny stopped him. “They’re still trying, right? They haven’t cut you guys out completely. Not again.”

The only thing Manny ever hated about Sonny was his forgiveness toward Manny’s parents. Manny didn’t think he could forgive his parents, but Sonny defended them too often, just because they were his parents. Even after a few summers ago when Manny spent an entire summer vacation in New York living with Sonny and Rafael after he came out to his parents. They didn’t want to see him, but Sonny took him in gladly.

“And you know you always got me and Rafi,” Sonny said.

“Yeah. I do know that,” Manny said. “How is he?”

“He’s...tired. A little worn down.”

“I can’t believe the flack he’d been getting for that Monroe case. What, like he was supposed to personally prosecute?”

“You know how it is. D.A.’s fault if there’s bad guys on the street. And you want that one day?”

Manny did. He wanted to go to Harvard just like Rafael, wanted to be a lawyer just like Rafael, and he wanted to be the best one, just like Rafael.

“You sound like Samuel.”

Sonny laughed. “One of us has to be the sensible one. So, when is the big day? I gotta clear my schedule.”

“What, are you too busy with shuffleboard and dinner at 4 P.M.?”

Sonny snorted a laugh. “Hey, you know those senior menus are too good to pass up sometimes.”

Manny laughed, too.

Sonny continued, “You’re too much like Rafael, you know that?”

“Didn’t I remind you of him when I was nine for a reason?”

“Yeah, and for that reason I shoulda never introduced you two. All we got was another sarcastic, out-for-blood lawyer in the world.”

“But you love us,” Manny joked.

“God help me, I do,” Sonny said, no doubt in his voice one bit.

Manny knew Sonny and Rafael loved him like parents would, like his parents should, and Manny will be forever grateful that they kept him in their lives for this long. Manny was at their vow renewal. Manny was there the day Rafael was sworn in as District Attorney. Manny visited Sonny at the elementary school as often as he could. They were at Manny’s Harvard graduation. They helped Manny move into his apartment in Brooklyn. And they’ll be there for Manny when he gets married, when he and Samuel have a baby, when he takes Rafael’s job as D.A.

Manny stayed on the phone with Sonny a while longer, until he needed to get back to work. But they made a plan to have dinner in the following week, just like they did as often as they could.

Manny hung up the phone thinking about the first time he met Sonny, how he should’ve known then how important the man would be in his life. And he was thankful that he was lucky enough to be in Mr. Carisi’s 3rd grade class fourteen years ago.

**Author's Note:**

> I want to be the teacher Sonny is in this fic to a kid one day.
> 
> Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think.


End file.
